Bubblegum Bxxxx
by justsomeone2010
Summary: Yurio agrees to do a frosted flakes commercial because the mascot is a tiger, but quickly regrets it. Just a little dabble I was playing with.


Yuri wasn't sure what had possessed him to take part in this farce, but he was quickly regretting the decision as he skidded to a halt on the ice for the umpteenth time that day, stilling to allow the camera time to zoom in on his face.

It took everything in him to hold back his grimace.

"And...cut!"

As soon as the shout rang out, Yuri fluttered his eyes shut and bowed his head forward, bracing his hands on his knees. Not from tiredness - just to allow himself a moment to embrace his frustration without the film crew seeing the blaze in his eyes. His teeth gritted hard, hidden behind his curtain of hair. He never should have agreed to this joke…

Straightening up though, he saw the exact reason he'd signed himself up for it skating towards him clumsily across the ice.

It was all that stupid tiger's fault, Yuri growled in his head as the gimp in the large, exaggerated costume staggered closer, only just staying on his feet. The pink nose and unnaturally shaped ears just made Yuri Plisetsky burn inside with irritation, but a big cat was a big cat and he hadn't been able to resist. The moron in the suit though wasn't nearly as appealing as the logo on the cereal company's letter had been though.

"Okay, Yuri," the director's voice called across from the barrier of the ice rink. He'd been careful to stay on solid ground since he'd skidded on his backside on the first day of filming. "We think we got that shot. For the next one, just loop around a bit, finish up by Timus and deliver the line. Got it?"

Yuri ran a hand through his blonde hair, glad he'd been allowed to keep it loose even though that wasn't how he'd worn it in his free skate routine. "Yeah, I got it." It took everything in him not to snap.

He'd already recorded most of the commercials audio to be played over clips of him skating, running through the harsh Russian terrain and tucking into a bowl of the gross cereal itself, but this was one line that they needed to record as he actually said it on camera.

One of the make up artists from the camera crew stumbled towards him and fixed his appearance slightly, adjusting his outfit and misting fake sweat over his face. At least he was in his free skate costume, he thought to himself even though it did little to lift his irritable mood. The cereal company had decided that was more exciting than his Agape look and Yuri hadn't complained, just glad to be in something he felt comfortable in for a change throughout the whole experience.

He still had to be filmed in the tiger sweater he'd bought from Hasetsu at some point though, his selfie with that very artifact the thing that had driven the cereal company to contact him in the first place.

He'd never been interested in TV work before, even though he had been asked a great deal since his win at the Grand Prix final. His legion of fans made him a key marketing tool for whatever company could get their hands on him. He nearly hadn't bothered reading the letter from Frost-O Cereal Company until he'd seen their tiger logo and had agreed to do just the one short commercial for them.

After the first day on set, he'd changed his mind.

He was in too deep to turn back now though, turning his back on the irritating camera crew to do a lap of the ice rink. When he was sure his face was out of camera-shot, he allowed himself a groan.

The whole thing felt stupid and he knew it was going to be a bad commercial already from the dumb scenes he'd seen filmed. There were so many good companies with big cat logos out there - why had he chosen this one?! He could have picked a car company and pulled up in a Jaguar, or said yes to the American basketball team and gotten to play with allstars… instead he'd gone with these morons, advertising frosted cereal flakes and skating with an amateur college actor who could barely stand on the ice.

 _Never again_ , he resolved in his head as he finished his speedy lap and turned towards Timus the Tiger in the middle of the rink. He angled his skates with perfect control, knowing that he could cut his speed sharply and skid to a halt right beside the tiger, just like they wanted.

As soon as he saw the stupid tiger face turn to him though, he knew what was going to happen. A jolt ran through the costume a second before the actor staggered back - he slipped on the ice in a heartbeat.

"CUT!"

He heard the thud more than he actually saw it; heard the shot being ruined, only meaning that Yuri would have to do the whole stupid thing all over again, just because the actor didn't think he could control his own speed. The very thought made his blood boil with fury, feeling the harsh words he'd been biting back all day rise to the surface at last.

Yuri spun around in a flurry of ice, fists trembling at his sides in rage. "You stupid idiot!" he barked before he could help it at the tiger sprawled out on the ice. "What was that?!"

The actor tugged the tiger head off the rest of the costume, revealing a flushed human face beneath it. Angry green eyes glared at the skater. "Me?!" he practically yelled. "You were going to hit me! That was way too fast!"

The corner of Yuri's eye twitched.

"I'm a Grand Prix gold medalist," he growled, voice rippling with fury. "And you don't think I know how to _stop?!"_

It took everything in him to hold himself back from sucker punching the loser on the ice, not understanding his reply as he took off in a torrent of bitter Spanish. He yelled at the director, scrambling towards him to get back on his feet, but only falling flat on his face instead.

Yuri might have almost found it amusing if he wasn't so angry. He didn't skate to perform stupid gimmicks on camera; he skated to be the best at skating, to crush records, dominate his personal bests and make history like nobody had ever done before him. He would do that by being at the top of his podiums at every competition. That was how people would remember him, not for his commercial for Frost-Os.

It was a dumb cereal anyway, just corn flakes with sugar on them. There was nothing good about it like he'd been forced to recite in the sound booth a few days ago and he was the last mascot they should want for something aimed at kids. He couldn't think of a worse role model. The casting agent probably hadn't bothered to think about that sort of thing though, only seeing Yuri's young face, just like their target audience.

Just when it was crossing his mind to quit, despite all the filming he'd already put himself through, the director called across from the rink barrier.

The actor looked bitter beside him.

"Okay Yuri," the director shouted through the loudspeaker. "Do the same thing again and just pretend like Timus is there on the same marker as before. We'll edit the tiger in later."

Yuri groaned quietly - there was no escape.

XXX

"Oh, God...dammit…ugh, the bastards..."

Watching the commercial at Otabek's apartment, Yuri wondered how he'd ever be able to show his face in public ever again. It was horrible; and now he was associated with this wreck.

As soon as it finished though, he rewound it again, reliving the nightmare. He knew there wouldn't be anything redeeming in the film, but that wasn't what he was looking for. What was he looking for? He wasn't really sure but he couldn't tear himself away, feeling more and more mortified and humiliated every time he watched it.

"It can't be that bad." Otabek called from the kitchen over the soft clink of china.

Yuri just pulled a face. "You haven't seen this garbage."

Just at that moment, the scene in the ice rink played and Yuri skidded to a halt on the ice beside the Timus the Tiger mascot. They had done a good job with the editing at least, fitting the costumed actor in the scene like he really had been there. Nobody would have guessed that Yuri had bullied the real actor off the ice in reality. If he had had to film one more scene with that bozo, Yuri was pretty sure he'd have done something that would have ended with charges pressed against him.

He barely noticed Otabek settle on the couch beside him, too obsessed with the cheesy line he was winking at the camera. "Frost-Os!" His plastic smile beamed from the screen. "The stuff of champions."

Who would know how much resentment and anger was really behind that smile? Yuri was a decent actor when he wanted to be, but after this horrendous experience, he was never going to utilise those skills ever again - at least, not on camera.

A soft crunch beside him snapped him out of his bitter haze and he glanced over at his friend. Otabek sat cross legged on the couch, a bowl balanced on his thigh.

As soon as Yuri saw the contents though, his temper flared. "What is that?!" he blurted, recognising the cheap golden flakes in a heartbeat. "You bought that crap?!"

Otabek just shrugged, spooning more flakes into his mouth.

Yuri felt his cheeks redden in a combination of embarrassment and irritation as the Kazakhstani held his gaze effortlessly and kept eating. Despite how mad he wanted to be, his heart thumped a little harder - Otabek was eating his cereal.

Face pink, the Russian skater folded his arms tightly across his chest and tried to pout through the smile trying to prick at his lips. Stiff as a board, he leaned over until his shoulder nudged Otabek's. The older skater held a spoonful of cornflakes up to Yuri's mouth. Perhaps one good thing had come out of this commercial then, he thought with a fluttering heart as his lips closed around the sugary cereal filled spoon.

Somehow, they didn't taste as bad coming from Otabek as they had done from the amatuer film crew. There was no way Yuri was going to admit that though, resting his head down on Otabek's shoulder.

"Asshole," he just mumbled between chews.


End file.
